Virginia Beach, Va. - Neil Lyness came into court in a wheelchair and told a judge he's guilty of killing 31-year-old Sandie Amaya and 12-year-old Sophia Lopez.
The victims' family sat watching Lyness, the man who police say drove the wrong way on I-64 and killed the mother and daughter.
The night the two died, the commonwealth says Lyness took more than double the recommended doses of prescription medication.
While on the drugs, prosecutors say he used his phone to text and take a phone call minutes before he crashed into the mother and daughter's car.
That same night his attorney, Sonny Stallings told NewsChannel 3 Lyness did something unheard of in an effort to gain sympathy for his client.
“He actually died himself then came back to life. He was pronounced dead at the scene and then for some reason I guess God only knows, his heart started beating and he`s here now. But they actually said call it he`s dead, but then he came back,” said Stallings.
The commonwealth says the night Lyness killed the mother and daughter, and apparently nearly killed himself, according to Stallings, he was driving with just one hand.
Lyness lost an arm and a leg in a previous motorcycle crash which is why he's in a wheelchair.
When he came inside the courtroom he looked completely different.
Previously, he had long shaggy hair and a beard. Today, he was clean-shaven, and had a much shorter haircut.
It was supposed to be the first day of his trial, but instead, Lyness decided to plead guilty.
“This is a very emotional case for a jury to have to handle. The pictures are very graphic and we were concerned that a jury would see those photographs and that would be all they saw,” says Stallings.
These were photographs that were caused by Lyness' decision to drive after taking multiple doses of prescription drugs, according to the commonwealth.
“He had a seizure as a result of this medication and then went across the road. It wasn't certainly something he intended to do,” says Stallings.
“He was on his way to an AA meeting. He has an alcohol and drug problem and he was going to a meeting. He has just talked to his sponsor on the phone,” says Stallings.
The commonwealth also says Lyness had been drinking the night before the accident in addition to the prescription drugs.
Even though his attorney admits there were drugs in his system, he praises his client for not driving too fast nor drinking too much.
“He didn't intentionally do this. He wasn't driving 100 miles an hour and he didn't have a .25 blood alcohol count,” says Stallings.
So while he didn't intentionally kill the mother and daughter, prosecutors say that's exactly what could potentially land him in jail for the next 40 years.
